Air travel is more popular than ever and with popular travel comes cheaper ticket prices. Discount airfares from the USA to Germany, for example, costs less than ever before. Germany is a great country with lots of culture and history and anyone traveling there will be amazed at how much there is to experience.
If you can get your hands on discount airfares from the USA to Germany, it’s recommended that you do so that you can experience it all yourself, or you can take your entire family for a European vacation and experience Germany during a trip that is sure to bring the entire clan closer. Just make sure that you take your camera because you will likely take home many memories that you will want to preserve forever.
Have You Ever Been Overseas?
For those people who have never traveled outside of the United States, a German vacation can seem scary. The first thing people usually consider is that they don’t speak German, they don’t know their way around Germany and they don’t even know how to go about making reservations for hotels, and more. These thoughts often cause a person to put off indefinitely any overseas travel. However, there is help available to alleviate all your fears so that you can have a relaxing vacation to this beautiful European country.
You have your choices when purchasing discount airfares from the USA to Germany. For instance, you can go through a travel agency, you can buy your tickets online or you can call the airlines directly. No matter which avenue you try, you are sure to find discount airfares from the USA to Germany. The problem comes when trying to book rental cars, hotels, and so on. This is where a travel agent or online travel site might work better than just calling the airlines.
Travel agents and online travel sites help you book rental cars, hotels, and even tour groups to help you get around better. The only thing these avenues can’t help you with is speaking the language. However, many Europeans speak English so your language barrier might not be such a barrier after all. You can always pick up an English to German dictionary or phrase book to help you out.
The point is not to be afraid of traveling to Germany. Wake up the adventurer in you and book your vacation with Discount airfares from the USA to Germany and worry about how to get around when you get there.
Roland Parris Jefferson III is a Private online researcher based out of Los Angeles, Calfornia. For free tips, resources and dirt cheap airfares covering Discount Airfairs Usa to Germany, please visit our
At the end of July I saw a brief feature on local TV about a Canadian couple who had mortgaged their home to create an international non-profit development organization in Peru, starting with shipping a container full of donated medical supplies to a small town on the Peruvian coast. I didn’t catch the person’s name, but I did catch the website: www.paraelmundo.org. Once on the site I sent an email, and Josh, the co-founder of this organization, got back to me in an email from Peru to arrange an interview with his wife, Danielle, who had came up with the idea for this project.
I had a chance to do an interview with Danielle who told me about how she and her husband Josh remortgaged their home to raise $30,000 to start a non-profit community development organization in a town called Mancora, a small fishing town of 15,000 people, located in northern Peru on the Pacific coast, just south of the Ecuadorian border. They already shipped a container full of medical supplies to Peru, at their own cost.
In August Danielle moved to Peru to join her husband Josh, to help this Peruvian community of Mancora. Danielle will be sharing with us regularly how she and her husband are doing in this little town in Peru and she’ll tell us stories (sometimes humorous ones) about cultural adjustment as well as give us progress reports of her non-profit community assistance organiation. Here is her second update:
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Hi everyone,
How are things with all of you? I figured it was about time to send you another
update. Things have been busy and always interesting, sometimes strange and often funny. We’ve had an interesting bunch of visitors occupying the guest room. First we had Dougald, a friend of Miguel’s from Toronto, then Danny, another friend of Miguel’s from Toronto (who at this moment should be on the Inca Trail – yikes!), and now Tracy, a Toronto paramedic, is here helping out.
Were getting to know Mancora better everyday, although it still continues to
baffle us. Finding things is a challenge, given that you can get limes at the computer store, rent movies at the cable place, and get your laundry done at a restaurant. To find flea powder (Ill tell you why in a second), we had to go to Ruth’s, who sent us to Dianna’s, who told us to walk three blocks this way and a
block that way, and ask for Nico Machalas house. So we did, and some local
kids were able to tell us which house it was. It looked normal on the outside, but his front room was full of a random assortment of things hanging from the ceiling and in glass cases. He did indeed have flea powder, pre-packaged or bulk. We bought the packaged stuff.
So why did we need flea powder, you ask? Well we didn’t, but our kittens did.
Josh and I rescued two kittens last weekend, on Sean’s birthday. We were all having a fire on the beach with some friends, and on our way there, we found these two kittens in the garbage dump, crying and hungry and full of fleas. They were really skiddish at first, and we took them home, bathed them, fed them, and put some sand in a box for litter.
Thank goodness, they took to it right away and we haven’t had any problems with them going no.1 or no.2 anywhere theyre not supposed to. We call the female Pilsen – she’s all black and named after a Peruvian brand of beer. The male is
black and white, and he’s called Pisco, after a Peruvian liquor. Really, we’re not alcoholics or anything, we just thought it’d be cool. We all enjoy them a lot and theyre getting fatter and cuter everyday. Theyre very socialable now, and spend their days going from lap to lap purring. We figure they’re about 3-4 months old.
Weve been getting into surfing, and we bought a used board last week. Its an
8 foot gunner, which means it can be turned and it has fins. It needed a paint job, so Sean and Miguel have been working on it. One side is red with white maple leafs, and the other side is white with red maple leafs. Go Canada! It was $40. Were getting another board, a 10 foot long board, which are very hard to come by and also very easy to learn on, because its basically a huge flat raft- like
thing. Pretty much impossible to tip over. You could use it to go fishing on, its that steady. You can’t turn one to save your life, but it’ll be good for beginners like me.
Also, now that we have two boards, we can go out two at a time, which is more fun. Waves are big here – the last few days they’ve been 2-2.5metres, which is too big for our beginner butts. We’ll wait until they’re under 2 metres, thanks.
Weve met some cool new friends here too, from Britain and Australia. There is
a Centre for Special Needs kids in Mancora, and we help them out quite a bit. Josh and Tracy have prepared a first aid kit for them and will be teaching some of the parents and volunteers there first aid. Anyway, they have a number of volunteers for a few months at a time, and weve been hanging out with them. Its nice to meet people that are like-minded and who are also here working here, as opposed to tourists who are on vacation.
This past weekend, we took a hiking trip with them. There were seven of us in total, and we were the guinea pigs trying out a new route that the ministry of tourism wants to use as an ecotour. Guinea pigs indeed. It was a little scary, to be honest, and probably not entirely safe, but we did get home safely. All we were told ahead of time was that it was a hike between two beaches.
In fact, it was, but it was a hike from one beach to another along a very rocky, cliffy, shale-y shore, and we had to hurry because the tide was rising. I wore sandals, thinking beach hike = sand, but I was wrong and got a big painful blister within the first hour. Then I borrowed shoes that were too big and I had no socks. Fun times.
Part of the trek involved climbing up shale cliffs, with little safety equipment except for a piece of rope tied to a rock. Thank goodness Josh (former rock climbing instructor) was there to keep an eye out. I almost got schmucked by a huge falling rock that one of the guides threw off the top of the cliff, without looking down to see if it was clear. Anyway, the view was nice and we made it to the end, had lunch, then tried to get back to Mancora. We took a combi (mini-van packed with way too
many people) from the small town we were in to Paita, then another combi (also way too packed, Josh was so cramped with his long legs) to Sullana.
When we got to Sullana (at 5pm) we found out there was a strike and no buses were going to Mancora until who knows when, maybe days. So after much negotiation and in front of a growing crowd of onlookers, we ended up
convincing a guy with a station wagon to take us the 150km for 20 soles each. We fit seven people into the station wagon (3 in the trunk part looking backwards) and made it home around 7ish last night.
Things with the organization are moving along nicely. We finally got phone and
internet at our place. To call from Canada, dial 011-51-73-258250. We also found a space to rent for the clinic, which is very exciting. Its decked out, with a phone, a bathroom, running water, a finished floor, and three small rooms plus the main space. Weve finished the inter-agency agreement between PaM and the Peruvian Red Cross, and our donations should be on their way any time. We have another 6 paramedics coming to help out in October/November, so well be able to get lots done. On the sad side, one of Josh’s first patients died this week. She was 87 and he used to visit her everyday at her house.
I have been working on teaching English to a group of people I taught last year,
and I also work with some of them on an individual level for emotional support and other social- worky stuff. We take Spanish classes everyday. The current drama going on right now is that one of the women we work with has been kidnapped by her loser ex, who is that father of her 1 year old, and we haven’t seen or heard from her since Saturday. If no one knows anything by tomorrow, we will try the police, but they usually arent very helpful, especially not in domestic violence cases.
Since he’s been here, Josh (and others from our organization) have personally been involved in several cases of violence against women in the street. Most people just stand around and watch, but once one person does something, others step up to help. Right after the last incident, several women came to Cecilia’s house and wanted to know who we were and if we could help them. They all said that they were afraid to do anything, but that once they saw Josh and Cecilia step in, they felt they could help too.
So thats the update for now.Hope you’re all well, I send big e-hugs to everyone!
Hasta pronto,
Danielle
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions ( travelandtransitions.com travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.
Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest ( travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
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The article with photos is published at travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/update_mancora_2.htm Travel and Transitions – Interviews
Bullfighting is as ubiquitous in Madrid as cricket is in the Indian sub-continent, and bullfighters are given the same celebrity status as sport stars. Your trip to Madrid would not be complete, if you are not intending to witness a spine-tingling bullfight.
Plaza Monumental de Toros de las Ventas, often referred to as the Mecca to bullfighting, draws some of the finest matadors in Spain. It is believed that a matador who hasn’t proven his bullfighting skills in Las Ventas is not considered to be a top-fight artist.
Bullfighting season in Madrid is between March and October. During this period, bullfights are organized every Sunday at 7 PM at Las Ventas, but during the Feria de San Isidro and the Feria de Otoo, there are bullfights everyday. Talent scouts mingle with the spectators on these two occasions, and matadors who distinguish themselves in the ring are signed up for Majorca, Málaga, and other places.
Bullfighting is all about testing the strength of matador and bull. The chief matadors also called toreros, are the ones who actually kill the bull, and they are dressed in gold, while their subordinates wear either a silver or black dress. A typical corrida (bullfight) is divided into 6 fifteen minutes sections called faenas, which are further segregated into three sections.
In the first section, the matador and his assistants use large magenta and yellow capes to test the bull’s (toro) strength. Picadors on horsebacks pierce the bull in the back of the neck to weaken it as well as compel it to drop it’s head to the level of the matador’s capes.
In the second section, the banderilleros stab the banderillas into the back of the oncoming bull. The banderillas are long, brightly colored barbed sticks that remain in the bull’s back for some time and aggravate it.
In the final section, the matador faces the bull alone and displays his bravery and skills through a series of elegant manoeuvres. His ultimate aim is to kill the bull and to achieve his goal he exchanges the long straight sword he has been using to position his cape for a smaller one with a curved end.
To execute the kill, the matador tries to mimic the angle formed by the head of a charging bull with his cape. As the bull reiterates, it’s vital area between the shoulder blades is exposed and the matador simply inserts his sword to reach the bull’s heart. A skilled matador, executes the bull in one go, but generally several attempts are required to subdue the bull.
Tickets for the bullfight can be purchased from Las Ventas itself. Alternatively, you can contact one of Madrid’s best ticket agents, Localidades Galicia for bullfight tickets. The prices of tickets vary depending upon the day and where you plan to sit.
Sombra are the best seats, as they are available in shades. The cheapest seats are filas, but they are always in the sun and provide the worst view. Barreras are the front row seats and Delanteras are third row seats. Delanteras are available in both the alta (high) and the baja (low) sections. The bullring isn’t too big but, if you plan to see the action without paying a lot for your seats, binoculars are probably a good idea.
Clint Dixon is a search marketer and author on many varied topics. puertobanusguide.com Marbella Spain is one of the areas he has an interest in and writes about puertobanusguide.com/events.php holidays in Spain, events and activities.
For the visitor nurtured on the writings of Rider Haggard, Ernest Hemingway, Karen Blixen, Elspeth Huxley, Robert Ruark, Jim Corbett, Baden-Powell, Joy Adamson And the celluloid epics of the golden years of Hollywood, Kenya has always exerted a magic spell. This nation at the heart of a great continent has remained a more powerful magnet for safari tourist from the western world than any other country in Africa. And its easy to see why. Kenya is scenically magnificent; 583,644 square kilometers (224,335 square miles) much of it dramatic wilderness unsurpassed anywhere in the world.
Straddling the equator and riven down its middle by the great Rift valley, Kenya’s landscapes are varied and beautiful opposites-from snow-capped mountain peak to blazing desert from rain-soaked timber forest to glistening white beaches. And studded throughout the land are more than 40 wildlife national parks and game reserves which contain some of the world’s most interesting wildlife species. Kenya is also exceptional in other ways than the ageless wonder of scenery and wildlife.
The country history since 1963, when independence was won from the British, under the leadership of freedom fighter “Mzee” Jomo Kenyatta, is one of remarkable social and economic advances. Symbolic of Kenya’s success in merging traditional Africa tribal society with modern technological society is the imposing Kenyatta international conference centre in the heart of Nairobi. The Center’s 30story tower is one of Kenya’s most imposing buildings; the cone-shaped roof of its amphitheatre inspired by traditional African round hut.A statue of Kenya’s founding father, Jomo Kenyatta who died in 1978, stands in the center’s foremost court.
KENYA IN BRIEF
Kenya: Attained independence as a member of the commonwealth on 12 December 1963 after six months of self-government and declared itself a republic on12 December 1964.
Nairobi: the capital was incorporated as a city on 30th March 1950 by royal Letters of patent presented by Duke of Gloucester the population is about 3 million
People of Kenya: The 2002 census recorded a national population of 30.3 million mainly African. Half of the population is under the age of 30.
Cities and Towns: Mombasa is the oldest town dating to a 2nd-century settlement, is the second largest town in Kenya with a population approaching 1.5 million. Kisumu on the shore of Lake Victoria is the third with a population of about 800,000.
Faith in Kenya: The Major religions are Christianity, Islam and Hindu
Main Kenya Rivers: Tana; Athi-Galana-Sabaki; Ewaso Ngiro; Kerio; Mara; Nzoia; Turkwel; and voi-Goshi-Rare.
Language: Swahili is the lingua franca and the national language although English is widely used in business, teaching and government. About 75 different languages are in use including Kikuyu and Dholuo
Entry point by Land: Malaba and Busia (from Uganda); Lungalunga, Taveta, Loitokitok and Namanga (from Tanzania); Moyale and Todenyang (from Ethiopia); Kolbio (from Somalia; and Lokichogio (from Sudan)
Entry point by Water: Lamu, Malindi, Kilifi, Momabsa, Kisumu, Homabay
Entry point by Air: Jomo Kenyatta international airport, Nairobi; Moi International Airport, Mombasa; Kisumu and Wilson Airport, Nairobi.
Lakes Of Kenya: Victoria (63,000 square kilometers); Turkana (6,500 square kilometers); Baringo; Bogoria; Nakuru; Elmentaita; Ol bollosatt; Naivasha; Magadi; Chala; and Lake Jipe
Mountains of Kenya: Mount Kenya (17,058feet); Mount Elgon (14,178 feet) The Aberdares (ol Doinyo Lesatiama 13,120 feet); and the Cheranganis (11,055 feet)
Joe M Maina is a Tour consultant based in Nairobi Kenya with landmarksafaris.com landmarksafaris.com
